Sikhs have taken strong exception to US TV show host Jay Leno’s remark about Sri Darbar Sahib, commonly known as the Golden Temple of Amritsar. India has strongly “objected” to the remark on the Golden Temple by popular US television host Jay Leno, terming it “quite unfortunate”.
Leno and his associates passed a remark about Darbar Sahib at a his popular show titled The Tonight Show with Jay Leno aired by NBC channel on January 19, 2012.
They showed an illuminated picture of Sri Darbar Sahib and announced to the world that this was the summer home of Republican Party hopeful, Mitt Romney.
Romney, a rich businessman-politician, is under fire these days for amassing wealth and paying lesser taxes. This derogatory depiction of Sri Darbar Sahib, as the home of rich, is contrary to the reality and hurtful to the sentiments of the Sikhs.
Sikhs of America have protested en-mass by calling up the studios of the show and voiced their concern.
Calls have also been placed at the NBC offices in New York and San Jose, California.
This is not the first time that Leno has targeted Sikhs in his monologue. Previously, in 2007 he called Sikhs ‘diaper heads’. In 2010, he remarked in his monologue that US President Barack Obama could not visit Sri Darbar Sahib because of requirements of wearing a turban.
An online petition has also been started by Bhai Harjot Singh Khasla to send a strong message that the sentiments of Sikhs worldwide are off limits to his monologues and cannot be used further his TV ratings.
“The right to speech under the first amendment to the united states constitution excludes defamation and spreading hate, incitement and false advertising” adds the petition.
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